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Elyn Zimmerman papers

Archives of American Art

Object Details

Creator
Zimmerman, Elyn, 1945-
Names
Dicker, Ruth
Diebenkorn, Richard, 1922-1993
Gund, Agnes
Teraoka, Masami, 1936-
Varnedoe, Kirk
Occupation
Sculptors -- California -- Los Angeles
Sculptors -- New York (State) -- New York
Installation artists -- California -- Los Angeles
Installation artists -- New York (State) -- New York
Topic
Women sculptors
Installations (Art)
Women artists
Provenance
The collection was donated in 2015-2024 by Elyn Zimmerman.
Creator
Zimmerman, Elyn, 1945-
See more items in
Elyn Zimmerman papers
Summary
The papers of sculptor and site-specific installation artist Elyn Zimmerman measure 41.4 linear feet and 1710.223 gigabytes, and date from 1967-2023. The collection documents the artist's life and work through correspondence, interviews, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, teaching files, printed material, photographic material, and biographical material. Project and commission files comprise the majority of the collection and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally, including the original 1995 World Trade Center Memorial. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. Photographic material documents Zimmerman's work and personal life through color and black and white slides, transparencies, contact sheets, negatives, and prints. The papers include extensive born digital records, including interviews, digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations.
Biographical / Historical
Elyn Zimmerman (1945-) is a New York City and Los Angeles based sculptor best known for her large scale site-specific outdoor installations incorporating granite, water features, and landscape architecture. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Zimmerman moved to California for college, earning both her BFA and MFA from University of California, Los Angeles. While at UCLA, she studied with Richard Diebenkorn and Robert Irwin, and worked in photography, drawing, and site-specific installation. In 1978 she created Monarch's Trough for Artpark in Lewiston, New York, her first site-specific work using granite. For the next several decades Zimmerman would complete dozens of site-specific installations in public and private spaces across the United States, and submit proposals for dozens more. Working frequently with stone and granite, she developed a decades long relationship with a granite quarry in Cold Spring, Minnesota, which fabricated many of her designs. Zimmerman's clients have included the National Geographic Society, the Birmingham Art Museum, and the New York City Parks Department. In addition to her site-specific work, Zimmerman has had an extensive exhibition history, and has shown for many years with Gagosian Gallery. In 2016, Zimmerman was the recipient of the Isamu Noguchi Award. She has taught at Mills College, California Institute of the Arts, Harvard University, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania. Zimmerman was married to the late curator Kirk Varnedoe from 1978-2002.
Extent
41.4 Linear feet
1,710.223 Gigabytes
Date
1967-2023
Archival Repository
Archives of American Art
Identifier
AAA.zimmelyn
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Gigabytes
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Interviews
Citation
Elyn Zimmerman papers, 1967-2023. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged as 9 series. Series 1: Correspondence, 1978-2011 (3.7 linear feet; Box 1-4) Series 2: Interviews, 1986-2005 (0.2 linear feet; Box 100, 139) Series 3: Writings, Agendas, and Address Books, 1970-2003 (1.1 linear feet; Box 4-5, 128, 131, 139) Series 4: Project and Commission Files, 1970-2023 (22.8 linear feet, Box 5-15, 21-22, 100, 123-125, 128, 131, 139; OV 23-85, 109-116, 120-122, 126-127, 134, 136, 138, 141, 143, 144; RD 97-98; 0.223 gigabytes, ER01-04) Series 5: Exhibition Files, 1969-2018 (4.9 linear feet; Box 15-16, 20-21, 100, 103, 123, 128, 139; OV 86-96,105-108, 120, 137, 144;RD 99) Series 6: Teaching Files, 1970-1994 (0.4 linear feet; Box 16) Series 7: Printed Material, 1970-2018 (2.1 linear feet; Box 16-19, 100, 123, 139; OV 142) Series 8: Photographic Material, 1967-2018 (5.7 linear feet; Box 100-102, 123-125, 128-130, 139; OV 117-119) Series 9: Biographical Material, 1975-2020 (0.2 linear feet; Box 140; OV 142, 144)
Processing Information
The collection was processed and a finding aid prepared by Hilary Price in 2018. The 2021 addition was processed by Jennifer E. Neal and Lewis Tio, and merged into the collection in 2022. Additions received in 2022 and 2023 were processed and merged into the collection by Sarah Mundy in 2023. The 2024 addition was processed and merged into the collection by Anna Rimel in 2025.
Rights
The Archives of American Art makes its archival collections available for non-commercial, educational and personal use unless restricted by copyright and/or donor restrictions, including but not limited to access and publication restrictions. AAA makes no representations concerning such rights and restrictions and it is the user's responsibility to determine whether rights or restrictions exist and to obtain any necessary permission to access, use, reproduce and publish the collections. Please refer to the Smithsonian's Terms of Use for additional information.
Genre/Form
Sound recordings
Video recordings
Interviews
Scope and Contents
The papers of sculptor and site-specific installation artist Elyn Zimmerman measure 41.4 linear feet and 1710.223 gigabytes, and date from 1967-2023. The collection documents the artist's life and work through correspondence, interviews, writings, project and commission files, exhibition files, teaching files, printed material, photographic material, and biographical material. Project and commission files comprise the majority of the collection and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally, including the original 1995 World Trade Center Memorial. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. Photographic material documents Zimmerman's work and personal life through color and black and white slides, transparencies, contact sheets, negatives, and prints. The papers include extensive born digital records, including interviews, digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations. Correspondence is comprised predominately of received letters and fewer drafts and copies of outgoing letters. Notable correspondents include Zimmerman's late husband, curator Kirk Varnedoe, arts advocate Agnes Gund, and artists Ruth Dicker, Richard Diebenkorn, Kady Hoffman, and Masami Teraoka. Interviews include digital video recordings of Elyn Zimmerman discussing various public projects between 1986 and 2005. Writings include drafts of journal articles, a book mock-up, project notes, statements, and journals . Agendas and address books are filed with writings. Project and commission files comprise the bulk of the collection and comprehensively document dozens of Zimmerman's site-specific sculptural projects and proposals for public and private sites across the United States and internationally. Items include correspondence, contracts, photographs, models, blueprints, and original sketches and drawings. The files include a small number of born digital records, including digital images of projects, construction sites, and floorplans, as well as PowerPoint presentations. Exhibition files document Zimmerman's site-specific installations and exhibitions in a gallery and museum context. Files include correspondence, photographs, slides, statements, press releases, shipping information, and price lists. Teaching files document the many courses Zimmerman taught in painting, drawing, design, architecture, and landscape architecture. Items include syllabi, assignments, lecture notes, reading lists, and articles. Printed material primarily consists of items cataloging Zimmerman's career including exhibition announcements, catalogs, posters, and press clippings. Subject files were saved and collected by Zimmerman and are arranged at the end of the series. Photographic material document Zimmerman's installations of commissioned works, exhibitions, and other installations through color and black and white slides, negatives, contact sheets, prints, and digital photographs. Biographical material is primarily made of up of awards and certificates, scattered biographical information, and memorial material for late husband Kirk Varnedoe.
Restrictions
This collection is open for research. Access to original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C. Research Center. Researchers interested in accessing born-digital records or audiovisual recordings in this collection must use access copies. Contact References Services for more information.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1584630068241-1584630068283-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/mw907b8edfc-e9ed-4849-99fa-3bc8ec9991a6

In the Collection

Pages

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  • Oversized Photographic Mural from Box 15, Folder 2

  • Oversized Baxter Art Gallery (1975) from Box 15, Folder 8

  • Sanctuary, 1991, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, Restoration

  • Press Clippings and Reviews

  • Ecology, Geology

  • Whitney Museum of American Art Project Proposal

  • Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Proposal, Washington, District of Columbia

  • Exhibition Catalogs

  • Oversized Spatial Topography (1974) from Box 15, Folder 7

  • Art, Ad Reinhart

  • Personal Notes

  • Sundial Project

  • Equivalent Abstractions

  • Biographical Clipping, "Vogue"

  • Sightline I, 1980, Winter Olympics, Lake Placid, New York

  • World Trade Center Memorial

  • Wood Models for 1993 Gagosian Sculpture Exhibition 3 of 3

  • Oversized Monarch's Trough from Box 5, Folder 9

  • Book Mock-up, "Elyn Zimmerman, Projects 1982-1990"

  • Oversized Government Center Plaza Proposal from Box 6, Folder 17

  • Exhibitions and Indoor Installations 3

  • Certificate, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Sculpture Honor Certificate

  • Riverside Park South Proposal, New York, New York

  • Oversized Riverway Proposal from Box 6, Folder 13

  • Exhibition Announcements and Event Invitations

  • NY Tonight

  • Oversized Award, Dance Theater Workshop New York Dance and Performance Award

  • Painting and Drawings 2

  • Writings, Agendas, and Address Books

  • Sculptures 1991-1993 2

  • Shunyata, 1982, Oak Brook, Illinois

  • Gagosian Gallery, Photographs (2004)

  • Biographical Material

  • Journal

  • Oversized Capsouto Park from Box 14, Folders 6-11

  • Student Work

  • Oversized GSA Federal Courthouse Proposal from Box 10, Folders 12-13

  • Wedding Announcement

  • Writing by Yoji Sasaki, "From Art to Landscape: Elyn Zimmerman"

  • Personal Photographs, Elyn Zimmerman and Kirk Varnedoe

  • Oversized LA Arts Park Proposal from Box 7, Folder 9

  • Oversized Greenwich Town Hall Proposal from Box 6, Folder 27

  • Oversized Conduit from Box 5, Folder 10

  • Article for Art Journal

  • Oversized Free Fall from Box 12, Folders 7-12

  • Capsouto Park, 2010, New York City Parks Department, New York, New York

  • Art, General

  • Oversized Certificate, Member of the Commission of Fine Arts

  • Conference Center, 1994, AT&T Headquarters, Basking Ridge, New Jersey

  • Space Grid for Sensitive Chaos Exhibition, Grounds for Sculpture

  • Personal Photographs, NYC

  • Sketches for Paintings

  • Gagosian Gallery (1998)

  • Window Drawings (1974), Mills College

  • Oversized Tambo Proposal from Box 6, Folder 24

  • Oversized Gagosian Gallery (1998) Models from Box 15, Folder 27

  • Elyn Zimmerman Fall 1998 LA

  • Sudama

  • Oversized Marabar from Box 6, Folders 8-9

  • Oversized Southpark II Sculpture Proposal from Box 6, Folder 19

  • Oversized Whitney Museum Project Proposal from Box 5, Folder 13

  • Chandler, Arizona Proposal

  • Early Photography

  • Various Grids

  • American Indian Drawings and Stencils

  • Architectural Drawings

  • Images of the City (1985), Joslyn Art Museum

  • PS1

  • Project and commission Files, Assorted

  • Barbara Singer Gallery

  • GSA Federal Courthouse Proposal, Islip, New York

  • Lithos I, 1991, Manufacturers Life Insurance Tower, Los Angeles, California

  • Yonge International Square Proposal, Toronto, Canada

  • Fort Lincoln Park Proposal, Washington, District of Columbia

  • Gagosian Gallery, Photographs (2004)

  • Mills College

  • Tassajara

  • Permaquid Proposal Architectural Drawings, Notes, and Photographs

  • Oversized Elevations Proposal from Box 5, Folder 21

  • Oversized Gagosian Gallery (1993) from Box 15, Folder 25

  • Exhibitions and Indoor Installations 4

  • Sightline/Access, 1981, Neuberger Museum, Purchase, New York

  • Exhibition Files

  • Outdoor Scenes and Dried Flora, Album

  • Implement Drawings and Stencils

  • "Untitled" Graphite Works

  • Oversized Chandler, Arizona Proposal from Box 6, Folder 11

  • Eight Artists: the Elusive Image (1979)

  • Freedom Fountain Proposal, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Address Books

  • Customs and Culture Part II (1979), US Customs House - Photograph and Slides

  • Project and Commission Files, Assorted

  • Spatial Topography (1974), University Art Museum, Berkeley, California

  • Mississippi Meanders, New Orleans Museum of Art Sculpture Garden

  • Ice Drawings

  • Salvio Pacheco Square Proposal

  • Painting and Drawings 1

  • Oversized Suspended Arcs from Box 14, Folder 5

  • Skestos Gabriele Gallery

  • Catalog, Artpark 1978

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Monarch's Trough, 1978, Artpark, Lewiston, New York
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There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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